This invention relates to the removal of background stain in electrophoresis gels by diffusion destaining. In particular, this invention relates to apparatus for the simultaneous destaining of a multitude of gels, both tube-shaped and slabs, in a continuously circulating destaining fluid.
In diffusion destaining, maximum contact is sought between the gel and a flowing diffusion fluid. When destaining several gels simultaneously, this generally requires a large flow rate of diffusion fluid, particularly when one seeks to provide the same degree of access of the fluid to all gels. When the principles of existing destainer designs are applied, this entails the use of a large physical space for the destainer and a high pumping capacity to circulate the fluid.